ARLINGTON, Texas — TCU quarterback Max Duggan was battered and bloodied, bodily exhausted and mentally drained. And nonetheless uncertain if the third-ranked Horned Frogs had completed sufficient to get into the four-team Faculty Soccer Playoff.
Duggan dropped to his knees ultimately zone after his 8-yard TD run ended his gutsy game-tying drive late in regulation of Saturday’s Huge 12 championship recreation, and buried his facemask into the turf after diving and developing simply inches wanting one other landing in additional time. He then stood alone in the course of the sector with each arms on his helmet when his operating again Kendre Miller was stuffed for the second play in a row, on fourth down, to offer No. 13 Kansas State the ball one final time.
Ty Zentner then kicked a 31-yard discipline purpose because the Wildcats beat TCU 31-28.
“We bought beat as we speak and now it’s out of our arms. That’s one thing that we wished to do is be in management,” stated Duggan, who needed to collect himself after beginning to discuss on the rostrum. “All we are able to do is sort of watch.”
Deuce Vaughn ran for 130 yards and a landing and Will Howard threw two TDs for the Wildcats (10-3, No. 10 CFP), who six weeks earlier had jumped out to a 28-10 lead early within the second quarter earlier than TCU scored the sport’s final 28 factors.
That was certainly one of 5 video games the Horned Frogs (12-1, No. 3 CFP) gained when trailing after halftime. However they couldn’t do it once more with the prospect to ensure being the primary Huge 12 group aside from Oklahoma to make the playoff.
TCU, the primary Huge 12 group to finish an everyday season undefeated since Texas in 2009, may nonetheless get into the playoff. Whereas their case was helped when fourth-ranked Southern California (11-2) misplaced 47-24 to Utah within the Pac-12 championship recreation Friday evening, the Frogs now have to attend till the ultimate CFP rankings come out Sunday.
“I feel we’re definitely deserving. I feel the league is without doubt one of the greatest leagues within the nation to undergo, undefeated within the league, definitely we must get in,” first-year TCU coach Sonny Dykes stated. “And I don’t assume we needs to be punished for coming to the Huge 12 championship recreation.”
Huge 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark stated earlier than the sport that TCU, with first-year coach Sonny Dykes, already deserved to be within the playoff.
“You take a look at their energy of schedule. You concentrate on how they’ve carried out all 12 months lengthy,” Yormark stated. “I feel regardless, they need to be in, for certain.”
Kansas State coach Chris Klieman agreed after his group reached 10 wins for the primary time since 2012, when the Wildcats gained the Huge 12 title when there was no championship recreation.
“TCU needs to be within the within the CFP, they’re top-of-the-line 4 groups,” Klieman stated. “We went toe to toe with them. I believed we may go toe to toe with them and discover a technique to win. It was an distinctive soccer recreation.”
Duggan, who went from dropping his job as TCU’s beginning quarterback going into the season to now being a possible Heisman Trophy finalist, threw for 251 yards and a landing, and likewise ran for 110 yards with an 8-yard rating with 1:51 remaining in regulation.
The quarterback was sacked 3 times, and hit quite a few different instances. He needed to have patches on his bloody elbow changed a number of instances, and was so drained late within the recreation that the offensive linemen had been mainly carrying him off the sector after drives.
“Clearly I used to be a bit drained, however I feel everyone else was and I wasn’t going to return out,” Duggan stated.
“Typical Max Duggan efficiency,” Dykes stated. “Simply gritty, robust, made performs when he needed to. Did the whole lot that he may do to offer us an opportunity to win.”
Vaughn’s 44-yard landing, together with an open-field transfer that led to a defensive again falling down yards from him, made it 28-17 and capped a drive arrange after Julius Brent intercepted a cross by Duggan ultimately zone on the primary play of the fourth quarter.
However TCU scored the final 11 factors of regulation, together with Griffin Kell’s 42-yard discipline purpose with 7 1/2 minute left. The kick ended a drive that Duggan stored alive with a 16-yard cross to Taye Barber on fourth-and-10.
Duggan’s TD run late in regulation got here proper after his 40-yard dash down the left sideline after scrambling away from stress on the earlier play, although he nonetheless needed to rise up and throw a tying 2-point conversion to tight finish Jared Wiley. He additionally had runs of 15, 13 and 19 yards on the drive, the longest of these three changing a fourth-and-2 from close to midfield.
Similar to 2014, the inaugural season of the four-team playoff, TCU went into its final recreation earlier than the ultimate rankings at No. 3, with Ohio State fifth.
TCU bought not noted that point, even after a seven-TD win over Iowa State in its regular-season finale earlier than the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin 59-0 within the Huge Ten title recreation later that day to make the playoff and win the nationwide title. However this 12 months, the Buckeyes (11-1) missed their convention title recreation after a loss final week to Michigan.
And now each of them are ready for Sunday once more.
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